Federal Violation of Probation and Federal Violation of Supervised Release

A probation sentence or supervised release both have one very clear advantage: you are not in prison. For supervised release, depending on the classification of your conviction, the duration is typically anywhere from one to five years. During that time, unfortunately, the scrutiny you will live under can be stifling and extremely frustrating, as your every move will be watched.

When does a violation occur?

A violation occurs if you fail to follow your probation officer’s legitimate instructions. Some violations are obviously more severe than others, such as possessing a controlled substance or a firearm or being arrested for anther criminal offense. Even arrests for simple state misdemeanor offenses can count as violations. Technically even contact with a police officer because of a traffic ticket can count as a probation violation or supervised release violation.

Which federal probation officer is assigned to your case and your relationship with your assigned officer will often times determine whether a violation is filed against you. Officers can file technical violations or substantive violations against you. Technical violations are less serious and are usually for events such as incidental contact with other convicted felons or police officers. A probation officer is not required to file a technical violation with the Court, which is why your history of following the rules and previous relationship with the probation officer can be extremely important.

What happens when a violation of probation or supervised release occurs?

For substantive violations and more serious technical violations, probation officers are typically required to file violations and pursue punishment with the Court. The federal government will nearly always seek to send you back to prison for these types of violations. However, the Judge decides whether prison is the appropriate punishment and just because the prosecutor and the United States probation officer want prison does not make it so.

An effective federal attorney will fight for you and ascertain mitigating factors to explain to the court what happened. The most effective approach might be to not give excuses for the violations and admit responsibility along with a reasonable explanation. Other times, circumstances beyond your control caused a violation and a more aggressive approach is called for in order to prove to the Judge that you are not legally responsible for a violation.

It is absolutely critical to have an attorney on your side that will explain the circumstances coherently and not be bullied into bowing down when legitimate defenses exist. Tim Bower Rodriguez, PA will make sure that your case is resolved in the best manner possible.